No One to Blame
by Elillierose
Summary: Even someone as even-tempered as their level-headed adviser has his snapping point. A lesson Prompto learns for himself. 5th fic in my 10 fic giveaway.


**Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting and istoleyourcheesecake**

 **Fifth of the ten fics for my 500 follower giveaway on Tumblr. I do these every 100 followers and am currently hosting the next if any are interested. Tumblr name is same as my name on here. C:**

* * *

Ignis took another long, thoughtful sip of his coffee, eyes flicking to his left as the blond's movements continued to capture his attention. He blew out of his nose in mild frustration. Honestly, how could Prompto still have such energy; it was bordering on impressive at this point. His finger tapped lightly against the ceramic surface, concentrating the majority of his annoyance on that one spot. The brunet hoped desperately the repetitive and rhythmic action was calming his nerves a bit. It was wishful thinking, to no surprise.

The adviser glanced to the other two, and was a little disappointed to see the lack of mutual feelings from them. 'Great', he thought. Suppose it was just him being overly irritated over nothing again. Or, according to the youngest, that's what happened to be the case most of the time.

It wasn't as if the gunner was going out of his way to be a nuisance. In fact, he wasn't doing anything different that what he normally did around camp: dart around, take some shots - some of which weren't taken with consent. Ignis was just...irritable at the moment. He himself knew that, they could all sense it, and they all knew how to take a hint and step back during these times. The man was under enough stress is it was.

"Say cheese!"

Another flash of light to the man's right and he squeezed his eyes shut from the surprise of it. The light stung ever so slightly and he dipped his head marginally.

"Prompto," he sighed, "can you _please,_ for the sake of my sanity, go one night without such shenanigans?" The question was clearly rhetorically, but Prompto paused, pondering nonetheless.

Noctis and Gladio merely shared and curious glance. Then, they watched as the brunet raised his attention once more, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose, and cut his eyes at the blond. Fortunately, for the both of them, the younger of the pair shrunk back and carefully returned to his chair. More than once, he glanced at the older, slight shame prodding at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, hands crossed in his lap. He was now the perfect picture of ideal behavior. His thumbs twirled around one another and his eyes hardly drifted anywhere aside from them and Ignis. Taking a deep breath, the blond leaned back and allowed his eyes to slide shut momentarily.

For a while, the night carried on in relative silence. No one really wanted to say anything anymore, no one wanted to annoy the adviser further than he already was. All it took was a small look over to see he desperately wasn't in the mood. Though, not a one of them blamed him, it had been a particularly stressful week. More so than it normally was, or what was considered normal for them. It wasn't until Gladio eventually rose to his feet and stretched out a few kinks that conversation finally, yet slowly, started back up.

"Well, Imma call it a night," the brute announced as he turned his neck, popping a couple of the joints in the process. The others bid him a small farewell, and the moment another voice was heard, the others felt at ease enough to carry on themselves. It wasn't long after that that Ignis soon followed the other man's example. The last of the bunch only stayed up for a couple hours more before doing the same. Maybe, hopefully, all would find themselves in better moods come morning.

* * *

Ignis, as per usual, awoke first. For a few minutes, he simply lied there, eyes partially open as he stared up at the ceiling of the tent. The man reminded himself a few times that it was a new day and hoped that would chase away the lingering frustration. It did little to help, but it was enough to will his body to finally move.

As he sat up, he craned his neck slightly as someone else shifted into wakefulness.

"Mornin', Iggy," Prompto half-croaked as he straightened up, arms lifting above his head. He offered the man a bit of a forced smile. The blond then perked up slightly at the small noise that came from the other. The next moment, he, too, was making his leave out of the tent.

"Everything alright?" he asked, shielding his eyes when the fresh rays nearly blinded his sensitive gaze. He kept his attention on the older man, watching him as he stiffly strolled to his belongings. It could only be assumed that he was getting ready to start breakfast. For a moment, he did nothing, staying at a safe distance. But, after a few moments, he was finding it harder and harder just to sit there while Ignis was doing all the work. Taking a deep breath, he climbed the rest of the way out.

"Hey, uh, want me to lend a hand?" he asked sheepishly, one hand gripping the back of his neck.

The brunet glanced his way for a fraction of a moment, and at first, he thought silence was going to fall back over them. However, just as he went to turn around and retreat, he got his response.

"No, thank you."

It was tight, reserved, like he wasn't in the mood for talking in the slightest. Was he still annoyed because of last night? Prompto stabbed his toe in the ground and bit his lower lip. If he knew it was going to upset the man that much… "A-Are you sure? I'm not doing anything, and, I mean, you do this every day. So, it's the least I can do. If you don't trust me to actually cook, which I wouldn't blame you, then I can easily do something else," he rambled, waving his hands about.

This time, there was no reply. Ignis didn't utter a single word and continued his work. If anything, he did his best to avoid looking in the other's direction. Then, as he went to reach for a few spices, the blond took it upon himself to grab those for the cook, seeing as he was closer to them.

"Oh, I got it," he chimed in, reaching for them at the same time...rather quickly and eagerly. His heart stopped as his own hand made contact with the other's, causing both of them to stumble with their trajectory. As a result, more than one spice bottle toppled over, a few fell to the stone below. Prompto winced and flinched with every sound of shattering. His breath caught in his throat and chest tightened in anticipation. He was almost afraid to look the adviser's way, afraid of the expression he would bear and the anger he would be holstering.

Soon, he gathered enough courage to finally investigate, and instantly wished he hadn't. "I-I'm sorry, I was just try-"

"Go sit down," Ignis interrupted, voice set with a calm rage. It was a tone the gunner wasn't sure he'd heard before.

Prompto swallowed thickly, trying to keep his emotions under control, but it was quickly becoming a losing battle. He couldn't move, too taken aback by what just happened. Why was he like this? "Iggy, I really didn't mean to…" he murmured as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

The next few seconds after that were a blur to him, all of it happened one after another. His eyes could barely keep up with what was going on. But, by the time it was over, he felt a strong hand gripped around his wrist as he was more or less pulled violently to the side. Enough for him to stumble and fall back. For a while, he lied there, eyes wide in shock and breath nonexistent.

Ignis, in the same amount of surprise, was also at a loss for words. What the hell did he just do? His mouth opened and closed a couple times with nothing coming out.

"Shit," he finally whispered, unable to get the word any louder than that. "Are you alright?" he asked, lowering to his knees to get a closer look. He scanned the blond over, searching for any sign of obvious injury. Thank the Astrals there was nothing that immediately stuck out to him. But, the gunner was holding his wrist against his chest, gripping it tightly.

The brunet held out his own hand, offering to take a look, a glint of regret in his stare. "Let me see," he urged, gesturing for the other to do as was asked.

"It's fine," Prompto quickly replied. As he said this, he scurried to his feet and took a few steps back. All the while, he cradled his hand to his chest, not daring to take the appendage away. "Honestly...it's alright," he murmured as he retreated about another foot.

Ignis let out a heavy sigh as he allowed himself to be defeated. What right did he have, though? If Prompto didn't want him to help out, then he shouldn't. He messed up, big this time, and he wouldn't blame the younger man for wanting to just go away now. He glanced back down at the gunner's arm, and he felt sick to his stomach when he caught a glimpse of some slight bruising peeking out from under his fingers. Perhaps he was even rougher than he first thought he was.

"I'll just let ya...do your thing," Prompto forced a light-hearted chuckle. "I'll, uh, wake the others, then," he offered next. Though, Ignis already could tell it was nothing more than a ruse in order to get as far away as quickly as he could.

As the younger of the two slinked away, Ignis ran a slightly shaky hand through his hair, causing some to droop from their position.

"Dammit."

Ignis turned to continue his task, trying as he might to keep his mind off this little incident. He wanted nothing more than a distraction from it. His mind had different plans though, it refused to allow him to wonder from replaying the scene over and over in his mind. He was supposed to be better than that, more level-headed. Why did he do that, why did he allow himself to be so bothered by the smallest of accidents?

It was all this stress, he was sure of it. He'd never reacted in such a manner before. Never...aside from one other time. But, that was a long time ago, he had matured since then. This is something he would have expected from the likes of Gladio.

He huffed out a heavy breath when he heard the others begin to filter out, conversation following after them. Great, just what he needed.

Then, the one thing he dread hearing, but something he knew was coming from the moment it happened. "Prom?" Noctis asked, his voice already laced with worry. Ignis cringed, almost folded in on himself with the next part. "What happened to your arm?" He could make out the blond's unsure exhale as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Uhhh," the blond dragged out. Finally, he took his other hand away to scratch the back of his head as he thought on it. "I'm not sure, I must've slept on it weird," he shrugged. Clearly his little lie wasn't bought as the prince tilted his head and smirked slightly. "What? You know me, I move a lot in my sleep, things happen. It wouldn't be the first time I hurt myself or someone else."

Noctis looked back to the blond's arm and raised an eyebrow as he gazed at it closer. Then, he noticed a pattern, one that left a sinking feeling in his gut. Those blossoming bruises, that oddly resembled that of fingers…

"Prompto...who did that?" he questioned, a lot more serious now. Before the other could answer, the royal had already pieced it all together. That bruise was definitely not there last night and there was only one other person that wasn't with them in the tent when they woke up. His eyes instantly darted to his adviser. "Ignis?" he called out, an air of disbelief in his tone.

Slowly, said man looked over his shoulder. Not taking his hands away from his task. "Yes, Noct," he breathed out. "I am not denying it was me, but I can assure it, there was nothing intentional about it." As he tried to quickly explain, the raven's expression never changed, never faltered from its mask of anger.

"What the hell, Ignis?" he practically snapped.

The blond stepped up, getting between the two of them before things had the chance to escalate. "Wait, Noct, it really was an accident," he chimed in. "Please...it's not a big deal," he almost pleaded. He glanced between the two of them, making sure neither was getting ready to make a move. It didn't take long for one of them to step forward, and he instinctively, and noticeably, flinched when Ignis took a single step.

This did not go unnoticed by the prince.

"Ignis, what has gotten into you? For the last few days you've been so damn touchy. The yelling and snapping was one thing, but this...this is too far." He shook his head and reached out a hand to Prompto. "Come on, we have some potions if you need one," he offered, tone lighter.

Prompto was hesitant as he looked down at his wrist. Aside from the bruising and some soreness, it really wasn't that bad. Nothing broken and he was fairly certain it wasn't sprained either. Really no need to overreact. "Nah, it looks worse than it is," he assured. From the skeptical look on his friend's face, Prompto felt the need to prove it. So, he lifted and gave the hand a few turns, or tried to. He only managed to move it a little bit before he had to stop and released a small hiss of discomfort.

"Use a potion," Ignis instructed.

The blond still appeared to be reluctant. To him, accepting the offer was like accepting the fact that Ignis had actually hurt him. And...he didn't. Ignis would never do anything like that. It just wasn't a possibility. "Ignis, I said it-"

"And I said to take the thing," the adviser snapped back, jerking around to face them both. "For once, just do as I say and don't ask questions." His initial rough demeanor dropped almost a second later. "Please, just take the potion, alright? You're obviously in pain, and it's completely my fault. I can't stand to see you standing there, acting like it's all fine, like you're fine. If nothing else, then take it for me."

The gunner stood there for a moment, watching in silence, in stunned silence. "Y-Yeah," he finally stuttered with a nod. "I think I can do that." His right hand wrapped back around the other and he stared down at it. Anything to end the awkward eye contact. He averted his attention to Noctis and nodded his head once in the direction of the tent.

That was all it took for the royal to take the hint. "Right, just sit down, I'll get it."

Prompto complied and lowered himself in the closest chair. As he waited, he looked up to Gladio, who was making quite the effort to glare at the adviser. The younger man's gaze flitted between the two of them, unsure if the brute was ever going to say anything. But, he prayed they could both keep it all to themselves.

Watching Gladio, he cut his stare over when the shield's eyes started to drift. Ignis was coming towards him.

"Prompto," the adviser greeted, taking the seat nearest him. "I want to actually apologize." He cleared his throat, both hands were on his lap, fingers gripping at his pants. "I think we're both aware it was an accident, but that's no excuse for what I did." He lowered his head. "What I'm trying to say is, there's nothing I can do or say to change what I did, but I can at least say that I truly am sorry, Prompto. I don't expect you to forgive me, and I don't blame you, but I still thought I should tell you that."

A small smile teased the corners of the gunner's mouth, and he gave a small nod. "I know...I know it wasn't on purpose. But, thank you...for saying this. I appreciate it."

Ignis returned the gesture with a light pat on the other's knee. Glancing up to see the prince sauntering back, he raised himself back up. "If there's anything I can do to make it up to you...just let me know, alright?"

"Yeah, sure."

As the brunet strolled away, returning to his stove before things could get out of hand there, Prompto let out a weighted breath. He dropped his gaze to look at his wrist again, and now he really paid attention to the marks that adorned it. His fingers traced over the bruises. It really was an accident, a reaction. Of course stuff like this was bound to happen between the four of them. With all they've been through, it was a wonder their reflexes didn't kick in more often. Looking back at the moment, he had to admit, it was rather impressive. He knew the man was fast, but that was something else. Stronger than he looks too.

Now that all the adrenaline was waning, it was a lot easier to see this as just that. A reflexive move, and nothing more than that. It had nothing to do with him. He looked back up when Noctis returned, vial in hand.

"Here."

Muttering a small thanks, Prompto accepted the potion and downed it in one swift motion. After he cringed from the bitter flavor, he stared down and watched as the last of the marks faded from view. He gave the joint a few rotating tests and couldn't help but smile at the relief of it. "Much better."

The blond took another peek at the adviser as he worked on completing their breakfast. And, he couldn't stop the small pang he got from the sight. It was no wonder he was under the most stress, he was taking all this more seriously than anyone and he was the one to keep the level head and all in order. But, on the inside, he was probably the one freaking out the most. He didn't blame him for this, and he hoped the others didn't either. They all let out their frustrations vocally, and Ignis had restrained from doing so all this time. No, it wasn't his fault, not one bit.


End file.
